Chapter 1: Embers of the Past

The city of Archeon was a husk of what it had once been. Once known as the City of Eternal Light, it now lay in ruin—a sprawling graveyard of broken towers, crumbling walls, and streets choked with ash. The skies above were permanently overcast, a gray shroud that pressed down on the world like a funeral veil.

Kael Draven had grown up in these streets, but he felt no nostalgia as he walked through them. Survival had a way of erasing sentimentality. Each step he took stirred the ashes of old memories—places where he had laughed, fought, and mourned. Places where he had dreamed, before the dreams turned to dust.

He stopped in the shadow of a shattered cathedral, its stained glass windows now jagged shards. The air was thick with silence, broken only by the distant cry of a scavenger bird.

"Another dead end," he muttered, kicking a loose stone. His reflection stared back at him in a puddle of stagnant water, eyes hollow and rimmed with exhaustion.

Kael had been searching for weeks. Searching for... what? He wasn't entirely sure. A way out? A new beginning? The stories of Absolutes had always lingered in his mind, a half-remembered whisper from his childhood. He had been a boy when the God-King Eryon fell, and while most people had seen only destruction, Kael had seen something else. Something greater.

His reverie was interrupted by the crunch of footsteps on the rubble behind him. Kael spun, his hand instinctively going to the hilt of his sword.

"Relax," a voice said. A woman emerged from the shadows, her figure slim but confident. She wore a dark cloak over simple traveling clothes, her hood drawn back to reveal sharp features and a cascade of dark hair.

"Who are you?" Kael demanded, his grip on the sword unwavering.

"Someone who can help," the woman said, raising her hands in a gesture of peace. "My name is Alyss. I've been watching you for some time now."

Kael frowned. "That's not an answer."

Alyss smirked, stepping closer. "You're looking for something, aren't you? Something beyond this wasteland. I know what it is, and I know how to find it."

Kael's eyes narrowed. "You know nothing about me."

"I know more than you think," Alyss countered, her voice steady. "I know about the Absolutes. About Eryon. And I know you're chasing a shadow, hoping it'll fill the emptiness inside you."

Kael's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword, but he didn't draw it. "Keep talking."

Alyss's smirk faded, replaced by a look of quiet determination. "I have a map," she said, pulling a leather satchel from her side. From it, she retrieved a worn journal, its edges frayed and its cover cracked with age. "This belonged to someone who claimed to have found the path to the Veil of Eternity. If the stories are true, it's where the Absolutes ascended—and where Eryon fell."

Kael's heart quickened at her words. He had heard of the Veil only in fragments of legend, spoken by wandering storytellers and desperate dreamers. A place beyond reality, where the boundaries of mortality could be broken.

"And you think this... journal will lead us there?" Kael asked, skepticism lacing his tone.

Alyss nodded. "It's more than just a map. It's a record of the trials that lie ahead—the challenges that anyone seeking the Absolute must face. It's dangerous, Kael. People have died for less."

Kael stared at the journal, the weight of her words sinking in. "Why tell me this? Why not go alone?"

Alyss hesitated, her eyes flickering with something Kael couldn't quite place—doubt? Regret? "Because I can't do it alone," she admitted. "And because you're the only one I've seen who might have a chance of making it."

The silence between them stretched, heavy with unspoken questions. Finally, Kael spoke.

"What's the cost?" he asked, his voice low.

Alyss looked away, her expression shadowed. "Everything."

---

Later that night, Kael sat by the remnants of a campfire, the journal open in his lap. The flames flickered weakly, casting long shadows against the crumbled walls around them. Alyss sat across from him, sharpening a dagger with slow, deliberate strokes.

The journal's pages were filled with sketches and notes written in a language Kael couldn't fully decipher. But there were images—diagrams of strange, otherworldly landscapes, creatures that defied reason, and runes that seemed to hum with latent power.

One page caught his attention. It depicted a figure standing before a massive gate, its surface carved with intricate patterns that seemed to shift as he stared at them. Beneath the image, a single line of text stood out, written in bold, jagged script:

"The path lies within, but the cost is everything."

"What does it mean?" Kael asked, breaking the silence.

Alyss glanced up from her dagger. "It means the journey isn't just about strength or skill. It's about breaking yourself down to nothing and rebuilding from the ashes. The path to the Absolute isn't just a physical one. It's... personal."

Kael frowned, closing the journal. "You're saying I have to fight myself?"

"In a way," Alyss said, sliding the dagger back into its sheath. "The Veil tests more than your body. It tests your soul. And not everyone comes back whole."

Kael stared into the fire, the weight of her words settling over him. For as long as he could remember, he had searched for a purpose, a reason to keep moving forward. Now, for the first time, he felt the stirrings of something close to fear.

But fear wasn't enough to stop him.

"I'm ready," he said finally, his voice steady.

Alyss smiled faintly, though there was no joy in it. "We'll see," she said. "The first step is the hardest. After that, it only gets worse."

---

As the fire died down, Kael lay awake, staring at the stars through the broken ceiling above. His mind raced with questions, doubts, and a gnawing sense of anticipation. Somewhere out there, the Veil of Eternity awaited.

And Kael intended to find it—no matter the cost.